These Kids Might Transform the Design Industry

Aug 27, 2024 By Nneka McGuire

Design Your World St. Louis students share what they learned from the summer program and how they see the world—we’re betting that they’ll shape the future of the design profession

By Nneka McGuire Aug 27, 2024

Published in Articles

(Above image: Visualizing spaces, and thinking through ways to best serve end users, was a vital part of the program. Image courtesy of IIDA)

Whitney Houston got it right when she said, “I believe the children are our future.” We at IIDA were blown away by the imaginativeness, empathy, dedication, and zeal for design on display among this year’s Design Your World (DYW) students. DYW is an education pathway program IIDA created to build equity and diversity in the design industry by exposing high school students to the possibilities of a career in design.

We had the chance to ask DYW students in St. Louis to tell us what the program taught them about design. Read their takeaways below, along with a fascinating fact about each student, and keep an eye on these and other DYW students—we’re betting that they’ll reshape the future of design, and our world, for the better.

1. Design is all around us.

“Interior design is really such an important part of our everyday life,” said Louisa Farinella. “Everything has thought behind it. It’s been really interesting to see how everything that surrounds us and everything we do really has such an important role.”

Something to know about Louisa: “I really love art. I’m really passionate about different styles of art, and different mediums.”

2. It’s important to ask the right questions.

“I learned to ask who I’m designing for,” said Kensington Curd.

Something to know about Kensington: “I want to be a vet, but I’m trying out DYW because I’m very creative.”

3. Color tells a story.

“I learned how color can correspond to an emotion, a theme, or a feeling,” said Toritseju Atsepoyi.

Something to know about Toritseju: “I’ve been a musician for about eight years.”

4. Design is a powerful tool for inclusion.

“Interior design is so much more than just designing spaces,” said Anneliz Tavarez. “You learn about how you need to make a space accessible to different groups of people, how one little thing in a room can change the whole entire space.”

Something to know about Anneliz: “I’ve been obsessed with art ever since I was little.”

Students worked together on various creative exercises and activities throughout the program.

Photo by Image courtesy of IIDA)

Students worked together on various creative exercises and activities throughout the program.

Photo by Image courtesy of IIDA)

DYW St. Louis Cohort

Photo by Image courtesy of IIDA)

DYW St. Louis Cohort

Photo by Image courtesy of IIDA)

5. Learning from architecture and design specialists is a good time.

“Being with people who know what they’re talking about—specialists on architecture—was informative for me,” said Nia Speed. “I like to learn a lot, and because I’m interested in architecture, it was a really fun program.”

Something to know about Nia: “How creative I am. I’m always trying to make something.”

Throughout the program DYW St. Louis students go to on field trips visiting design firms in their city.